Tag Archives: Eyeshadow Reviews

Although right, I admit it – it’s not in there yet. BUT IT WILL BE. I have been waiting for this gorgeous soft coppery shade to hit counters ever since it started turning up on the red carpet (like on the likes of Keira Knightley – see above for some soft buttery eyeshadow deliciousness!)

Chanel’s New Moon is the latest addition to their Ombre d’Illusion line, which I would have to say is probably my favourite line of eyeshadows ever (oh be quiet Tom Ford – it’s a close call but Chanel win this round.) I hestitae to call them creams since they’re a new technology which is really a mousse more than a cream, and most makeup lines now do them, from Maybelline to Armani. But it’s the colours of the Chanel Ombres that make this line so special, and the new Summer offerings, on counter in Oz this weekend, are no exception.

New Moon is the one that I have to have, but I may also pick up Mirage, which is a golden bronze (so perfect for the big beach beauty shoot I have coming up), and Utopia is a soft lavender. And I’m a sucker for a soft lavender since it looks good on every eye colour.

And now for what else New Moon has inspired, which is not very Chanel(but I can’t help it) – it’s the end of the kids’ movie Babe, when the three mice sing “Blue Moon”. Every time I think “New Moon” this is what pops in my head:

It’s not that chic, but it’s definitely sweet. As long as I don’t start singing it at the Chanel counter, I should be fine.

OK it’s official. Burberry can do no wrong in my eyes. They have new eye quads that are, in a word, divine. Buttery soft, smooth and the colour combinations are just perfection.

It comes housed in a sleek gunmetal case which I am THRILLED to say, is lighter than the single eyeshadows I own. Because if I had one gripe with Burberry Beauty, it was the weight of their beautiful products. For the lady at home carrying a lippy and a blush they would be OK (still heavy, but just about manageable). But if you’re a makeup artist and you have a stack of those bad boys you want to carry, it’s just death. And then you have to choose which ones to take on a job. And then it’s MORE death because they’re all so lovely, and you can’t choose. And then you have to hack them up with a pallet knife which makes you want to stick the palette knife in your eye because it’s so sacrilegious to hack up those gorgeous Burberry eyeshadows to put in teeny plastic cases so you can carry them all. Can you tell I’ve been there? More than once?

So now the packaging feels lighter, and Burberry have given you not one, but FOUR lovely shades to choose from. I have Mocha, which is rich, yummy golden browns (you know, the browns that are surprising hard to find in other ranges? Yeah, those). There is a cream, a golden brown, a nutmeg/caramel colour and a rich brown that’s perfect for lining eyes. These babies can go natural and nothing, or very, very glamorous. What I love about the Burberry shadows is they are matte but they still have a sheen to them, so they don’t look flat on the eye.

The eye quads are called the Compete Eye Palette and come in 6 different shade variations, ranging from Plum Pink to Smokey Grey. I for one will be needing more of these new lightweight! Burberry goodies.

And here’s a video which has very little to do with Burberry, except it’s the Burberry model, Cara Delevigne, rollerskating in an elf hat. Shot by Angelo Pennetta for Love magazine, I thought it was super cute. And it’s Christmas, and who doesn’t love rollerskating elves at Christmas? Especially ones as pretty as Cara Delevigne.

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a fun and festive holiday season and are returning to every day life bright eyed and bushy tailed (as opposed to hungover and broke, which is the other, less attractive option).

I’m going to kick off the year by declaring a new love, although it’s one that’s been around for awhile. And alright, I’ve been crushing on it for a bit as well, most of last year in fact, but still! Let’s put it in the New Year, New Love category.

It’s Lancôme. My interest in this brand goes from strength to strength. I used to just like their skincare – their Bi-Facil Eye Makeup remover has been in my kit for years as it removes even the toughest eye makeup with one gentle swipe, and I love their Hydra-Zen moisturisers. I had a few makeup bits of theirs floating around, but nothing major. By the time I got to Lancôme I felt I had really built my kit and there wasn’t much room for anything else. In the last couple of years though it feels like it has really become more interesting as a brand – the formulations are the same high quality they have always been, but with Aaron de May now as Global Creative Director it feels like it’s breaking new ground and this grand dame of French cosmetics is loosening up a little, getting a younger, fresher image.

So just before Christmas I found myself SQUEEZING in a new Strasse eyeshadow (and I do mean squeezing – that kit is TIGHT). The colour? Dazzling Steel, which you would expect to be a rich pewter but is actually an unusual khaki grey colour. Why is it getting crushed into my kit? It’s sparkly, and I’m still loving metallic makeup – it’s not just for the holidays you know!

I like the way the shine catches the light but still looks elegant, not like some 15 year old let out of a school disco. This is sparkle for grown ups, and whilst it’s lovely as a liner I’m looking forward to letting this sparklepuss out of the bag and rocking it with a smoky eye combo for some true sexy evening allure. And Lancôme? I have a feeling we ain’t heard nothing yet.

Just when I think I couldn’t be any more in love with Topshop, they go and produce these lovely videos for their new makeup collection, Heavy Duty. It’s a rockin’ London eye, fabulously cool makeup artist Hannah Murray (who is the Creative Director for Topshop makeup) is on beauty duty, and they have one of my favourite singers, Sia, providing the tunes. All r-i-i-i-ight.

Estee Lauder is one of those brands that have really re-invented themselves over the last few years. They used to be a bit granny – that’s where your mum and your grandma (and in some cases, great-grandma!) shopped for their rouge and lipstick, but no longer. The quality of the products is still there (because they have that in spades), but it’s now a nanna-free zone. The advertising is much more glamorous, with spokesmodels like the beautiful Hilary Rhoda and the unbelievable looking Constance Jablonski, and their first Asian model, Liu Wen. And this year they have a new International Makeup artist in the form of one Mr Tom Pecheux, he of the constant flow of Paris Vogue covers, years as Mario Testino’s favourite makeup artist, runway artist regular and makeup artist to Madonna, Nicole Kidman and Kate Moss amongst others. The urbane Frenchman is a perfect addition to the brand, and I love the look of his first collection, Blue Dahlia. He says “Makeup is such a fashion accessory – I’d like to highlight that part of the brand, and also bring a playful touch to the franchise.”

However! I’ve been using Estee Lauder judiciously in my kit for quite awhile as I love the finish of their products – this is still makeup for grown ups, even if it is being ushered into the new millennium. I had my first proper taste of their range at the Swarowski Fashion Rocks show in London a couple of years ago (Estee Lauder sponsored it), and I was actually really blown away by the quality. It was a huge show with a zillion models and celebrities in very full makeup looks, and their products held up amazingly. Ever since then I’ve been a fan.

One of my favourites from Estee Lauder is their eyeshadows which are super finely milled, blend deliciously and used in conjunction with others in the range give a gorgeous finish and are just lovely, flattering colours. I definitely prefer them to their eyeshadow quads from the core range, which are not the same texture as the singles. The colour pay off in the singles seems to be much better, and less powdery – plus the mattes are really matte and the shimmers are just shimmery enough. Shimmer to make you pretty, not look like an escapee from Crazy Town. And the metallics? Well they’re off the charts – love, love love these particularly in the deeper colours like purple and charcoal.

Each shadow feels like pretty little Lucite seashells in your hand, so they definitely give you that feeling you’re using something luxe, although as a makeup artist I do find they get quite heavy when you’re stacking them up and carrying them around (as one does). Word on the street has it that Estee Lauder will be re-launching their single eyeshadows later this year in the form of 48 new Pure Colour eyeshadows with finishes ranging from matte, to satins, luminous and metallic. And if they’re anything as good as the ones I have in my kit I’ll be queuing up to get to them!

I couldn’t resist this 80’s awesomeness – this is a rare Estee Lauder promotional video of supermodel Paulina Porizkova. Quite the contrast to Hilary Rhoda!